1 Plant a woody vine; [subfamily Aralioideae; tribe Schefflereae]

1 Plant an herb, shrub, or tree.

..2 Leaves simple, peltate or cordate, roundish (if lobed, with 3-5 rounded lobes), 0.3-10 cm wide; rhizomatous, creeping herbs; [subfamily Hydrocotyloideae]

..2 Leaves either compound with 3-many leaflets or simple and then with 5-15 pointed lobes, > 10 cm wide; herbs, shrubs, or trees.

....3 Leaves simple, palmately-lobed; [subfamily Aralioideae; tribe Schefflereae].

......4 Leaves 5-7-lobed (the lobes not themselves sublobed); tree, the branches armed with prickles

......4 Leaves 7-15-lobed (the lobes themselves either sublobed or not); robust herb to shrub, the branches unarmed.

........5 Leaves 7-9-lobed (the lobes not sublobed); ovary 5- or 10-carpellate; leaf blades glabrous beneath at maturity

........5 Leaves 9-15-lobed (some of the lobes sublobed); ovary 2-carpellate; leaf blades densely pubescent beneath at maturity

....3 Leaves compound.

..........6 Leaves 2-3× compound, at least the final order of division pinnate; leaves either 1 from a subterranean stem or 2-many, alternate on an aboveground stem; inflorescence compound, consisting of (2-) 3-many umbels, either on a separate peduncle from the rhizome or in a terminal panicle or raceme of umbels; fruit purple or black; [subfamily Aralioideae; tribe Aralieae]

..........6 Leaves 1× palmately compound, leaflets 3-7; leaves 3-5 in a whorl at the summit of the stem (Panax) or many, clustered on spur shoots (Eleutherococcus); inflorescence of a single, simple umbel borne terminally on the stem; fruit red to yellow (Panax) or black (Eleutherococcus).

............ 7 Plant a shrub, with prickles; fruit black; [subfamily Aralioideae; tribe Schefflereae]

............ 7 Plant an herb, lacking prickles; fruit red or yellowish-green; [subfamily Aralioideae; tribe Aralieae].

............ ..8 Leaflets (3-) 5, petiolulate, the petiolules (7-) 10-25 mm long; larger leaflets 6-15 cm long, 3.5-7 cm wide, averaging about 1.8× as long as wide, the apex acuminate; fruit bright red when ripe, smoothly elliptical in ×-section; petals light green; inflorescence erect in bud; underground storage organ an elongate root, this vertical or horizontal, and sometimes branched

1 Leaflets (3-) 5, petiolulate, the petiolules (7-) 10-25 mm long; larger leaflets 6-15 cm long, 3.5-7 cm wide, averaging about 1.8× as long as wide, the apex acuminate; fruit bright red when ripe, smoothly elliptical in ×-section; petals light green; inflorescence erect in bud; underground storage organ an elongate root, this vertical or horizontal, and sometimes branched

1 Cauline leaves palmately compound.

..2 Cauline leaves essentially sessile, and also palmately cleft to the base, and further lacerately divided into linear or oblanceolate segments

..2 Cauline leaves petiolate, with 3-5, sessile or petiolulate, ovate, elliptic, or obovate leaflets (these serrate and sometimes with additional lobes).

....3 Inflorescence a spherical umbel of many flowers; fruit a drupe with 2-3 seeds; stem leaves 3-5

......4 Leaflets (3-) 5, petiolulate, the petiolules (7-) 10-25 mm long; larger leaflets 6-15 cm long, 3.5-7 cm wide, averaging about 1.8× as long as wide, the apex acuminate; fruit bright red when ripe, smoothly elliptical in ×-section; petals light green; inflorescence erect in bud; underground storage organ an +/- elongate root, this vertical or horizontal, and sometimes branched

....3 Inflorescence of single terminal flowers on the 1-several branches; fruit an aggregate of achenes; stem leaves 3

1 Cauline leaves simple.

........5 Inflorescence an involucrate head subtended by phyllaries, heads solitary or many, variously arrayed in secondary inflorescences; fruit a cypsela

........5 Inflorescence various, but not as above; fruit various, not as above (sometimes the flowers tightly grouped, but then with other features differing, such as stamens 4, or green calyx present, or fruit a schizocarp of mericarps, etc.).

..........6 Fruit a 3-lobed, 3-locular capsule; inflorescence a cyathium, consisting of a single pistillate flower (reduced to a single 3-carpellate pistil) and 2 or more staminate flowers (each reduced to 1 stamen), borne in a cup-like involucre, the involucre bearing pointed or rounded glands, these sometimes brightly colored and petaloid, mimicking an individual flower (the cyathia then secondarily arranged in terminal cymes, or solitary and axillary, etc.); fresh plants with milky juice

..........6 Fruit various, not as above; inflorescence not a cyathium (and staminate or bisexual flowers almost always with > 1 stamen); fresh plants lacking milky juice.

............ 7 Leaves succulent, the terminal whorls closely juxtaposed; pistils 4-5; fruit an aggregate of follicles

............ 7 Leaves herbaceous, thin in texture, whorls separated; pistil 1, of 2-5 fused carpels; fruit a capsule, achene, or drupe.

............ ..8 Larger whorled leaves on a plant < 10 mm wide [some taxa keyed here and under the second lead].

............ ....9 Inflorescence a cymule, either axillary, or axillary and terminal; ovary inferior.

............ ......10 Leaves markedly variable in shape or size in each whorl; fruit a capsule; petals 5

............ ......10 Leaves similar in size and shape in each whorl; fruit dry or fleshy, indehiscent; petals (3-) 4

............ ....9 Inflorescence a terminal raceme, panicle, spike, cyme, corymb, or umbel; ovary superior.

............ ........11 Corolla bilaterally symmetrical, the petals connate; carpels 2; stamens 4, 6, or 8.

............ ..........12 Stamens 4; corolla blue or almost white

............ ..........12 Stamens 6 or 8; corolla pink or yellow

............ ........11 Corolla radially symmetrical, the petals separate; carpels 2, 3, or 5; stamens 5, 10, or many.

............ ............ 13 Inflorescence an axillary umbel; leaves narrowly linear and more than 10× as long as wide, > 20 mm long and < 2 mm wide; whorls of 3-6 leaves

............ ............ 13 Inflorescence a terminal cyme, raceme, panicle, or umbel; leaves as above, or broader in shape, narrower, or shorter; whorls of 3-16 leaves.

............ ............ ..14 Inflorescence a terminal cyme or umbel; corolla white; carpels 5.

............ ............ ....15 Leaves narrowly linear, 12-16 in each whorl; stamens 5

............ ............ ....15 Leaves ovate or obovate, 3 (-4) in each whorl

............ ............ ..14 Inflorescence a terminal raceme or panicle; corolla reddish, maroon, or yellow.

............ ............ ......16 Corolla reddish or maroon

............ ............ ......16 Corolla yellow

............ ..8 Larger whorled leaves on a plant > 10 mm wide.

............ ............ ........17 Inflorescence a spike; perianth absent; fruit a drupe

............ ............ ........17 Inflorescence various, but not a spike; perianth present; fruit various, but not a drupe.

............ ............ ..........18 Inflorescence of terminal involucrate clusters; perianth of 6 tepals; fruit an achene; stamens 9; [plants of very dry habitats]

............ ............ ..........18 Inflorescence various, but not as above; perianth of 2 whorls (the calyx often obsolete in Galium in RUBIACEAE), 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, or 7-merous; stamens 2-7; [plants of dry-mesic to very wet habitats].

............ ............ ............ 19 Fruit dry or fleshy, indehiscent; petals (3-) 4; ovary inferior

............ ............ ............ 19 Fruit a capsule or follicle, dehiscent; petals 4-7; ovary superior.

............ ............ ............ ..20 Inflorescence an umbel; fresh plants with milky juice

............ ............ ............ ..20 Inflorescence not an umbel; fresh plants with clear juice.

............ ............ ............ ....21 Corolla pink-purple, 6-merous, the petals separate and borne on the edge of a hypanthium; stamens 8, 10, or 12; [plants of wetlands]

............ ............ ............ ....21 Corolla white, yellow, or greenish, 4-, 5-, or 7-merous, the petals fused at least basally into a tube (falling as a unit), not on a hypanthium; stamens 2, 4, 5, or 7; [plants of mesic habitats].

............ ............ ............ ......22 Stamens 2; corolla bilaterally symmetrical

............ ............ ............ ......22 Stamens 4, 5, or 7; corolla radially symmetrical.

............ ............ ............ ........23 Petals yellowish-white, with prominent green streaks; biennial or monocarpic plant, 10-30 dm tall when fertile; leaves 15-35 cm long

............ ............ ............ ........23 Petals white or yellow; perennial plants, 1-15 dm tall; leaves 1-15 cm long.

............ ............ ............ ..........24 Leaves punctate; stem without swollen nodes

............ ............ ............ ..........24 Leaves not punctate; stem with swollen nodes